Major Milestone Celebrated at Virginia General Assembly Building

Gilbane Building Company recently celebrated the leveling out of the Virginia Department of General Services General Assembly Building in downtown Richmond, Virginia. The leveling-out ceremony marked the full demolition of the 420,000-square-foot General Assembly Building, originally built in 1912. All that remains, supported by an intricate framework of steel, is the historic 105-year-old façade. Located on the corner of Ninth and Broad Streets, the original six-story 1912 building was built with an elaborate exterior limestone façade that features three-story Corinthian-style pilasters. In October 2017, the team began constructing a temporary steel bracing tower to support the soon freestanding façade. This … Read more

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Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy Gets Facelift

Atlanta Public Schools has selected JE Dunn Construction for a $27.6-million project to build a new school to house the Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy, located in Atlanta, Georgia. The new elementary school building will replace a 43-year-old facility, which will be preserved for another use, and will give the school greater street visibility. Features of the 107,747-square-foot, three-story replacement building, which will accommodate a full-time enrollment of 753, include a main entry/lobby space with a gallery, media center, cafeteria, gymnasium with stage, specialty classrooms, STEM and flight simulator labs and outdoor lab/classroom space. The project will also deliver new parking … Read more

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Hazard Alert: Opioid Deaths in Construction

More than 42,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses in 2016. An analysis of fatal opioid overdoses in Ohio showed that construction workers were seven times more likely than other workers to die this way. This is shocking and sad, and there are steps that those in the occupational safety and health community can take. While the CPWR agrees workplace injuries should be prevented with programs like its new Best Built Plans, construction workers continue to get hurt on the job and these injuries cause pain. Doctors routinely prescribe opioids for pain. The CDC reports that as many as one out … Read more

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Construction Employment Reaches 10-Year High, Industry Unemployment Sets Record Low

Construction employment increased by 19,000 jobs in July and by 303,000 jobs over the past year, reaching a 10-year high, and the industry’s unemployment rate and level hit an all-time low, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said it was likely firms would have added even more workers if they could find qualified candidates to hire. “The construction industry has added workers at nearly three times the rate of the economy as a whole, and the job gains are showing up in both residential and nonresidential construction,” said Ken … Read more

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Turner Begins Construction on Istanbul’s Ziraat Bank Headquarters

Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, the Ziraat Bank Headquarters complex is situated in the heart of the new Istanbul International Financial Center, a development master planned by HOK. The IIFC district will house the head offices of Turkey’s financial governing bodies, state-owned and private banks and related businesses. “Ziraat Bank Headquarters is another important win for our regional operations,” said Project Director Mehmet Genc, adding that local talent who have been trained and developed on recent projects in Turkey—such as Kaplankaya and Emaar Square—are well-positioned to serve the client and deliver the project. He also noted that the rigorous … Read more

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